Faroese bank cod sells for lower price than shore-caught

The highest grade cod from Faroese waters is selling for about 10 krona less per kilogram than shore-caught cod, according to a report by Faroese public broadcaster KVF.

On Wednesday, the best-quality cod from the Faroe Bank was priced at 30 krona per kilogram, roughly 10 krona below the price for equivalent shore-caught fish. Høgni Hansen, director of the Faroese Fish Market, attributed the lower price to the current abundance of cod in the area.

“Cod on the Faroe Bank is very plentiful this season, and buyers are unwilling to pay as much for it,” Hansen said.

Earlier this week, the trawler Steymsund—one of the smaller longliners in quota group 4—landed 21 tonnes of cod in Tórshavn, nearly all of it the highest-grade fish from the Faroe Bank.

This year’s total allowable catch for the Faroe Bank is 265 fishing days, distributed among vessels by size: large longliners in group 3 have 40 days, group 4 trawlers 135 days, and the smallest vessels in group 5 90 days. According to the Fish Market, around 100 tonnes have been caught so far this year.